Chapter 1
The young girl sat at the table waiting for her birthday cake to be presented before her. She swung her legs excited as she sported the pink flower pattern dress and her brown locks were placed in pig tails. She eagerly waited for her special gift from her mother and father that was going to set her on her true path in life. She was only eight years old but already knew what she wanted to be once she grew up. She wanted to be an astronaut and fly to the stars. She wanted the same doll that her friend, Sam Carter from school had. She grinned as a neatly wrapped box was placed before her with her cake. She assumed it must be the prized doll.
Her mother, a tall woman with long blonde hair that flowed around her stated, "Now before you open your present, Robin, you have to blow out your candles and make a wish."
The girl eagerly stated, "I wish for a Major Matt Mason doll." and blew out the candles.
Her mother's expression soured.
She grabbed the box and ripped it open. She dug inside looking for the doll but instead he found a wooden wand that was elegantly decorated. She soured, "A wand." She looked again in the box, "Where's my doll?"
"You are too old for dolls." her mother rebutted. "You must start your training. You are eight years old. It's time to start. The wand will assist you in your training to be the next sorceress in the family."
"I don't want to be a sorceress. I want to be an astronaut and go into space." she declared.
Her mother asked, "Now where did you get such a silly idea from, Robin?"
"Sam!" she replied. "My best friend from school. She was telling all about it. She's has a Major Matt Mason doll."
Her mother shook her head, "It's just a phase. Your friend influenced you. Robin, you are a sorceress. You are not like most children."
She grasped the wand and looked it over. She gave a wrinkled nose to her mother, "I don't want to be a witch."
Her mother shook her finger, "A sorceress is not a witch." She looked to Robin's father for confirmation.
A tall man with light brown hair and blue eyes stood by wearing a red sweater and jeans. He held a camera in his hand as he was to take the family picture. He added, "That's right, honey. We are sorcerers. We are not wizards, warlocks or witches. There is a difference. The wand is to help you train to use your gift. Once you are a grownup you won't need it anymore. If you want to go into a space program when you are a grownup then you can. But right now you need to start your training. You will study abroad in a special school called Hogwarts. Most students are wizards and witches and will always require a wand. After you are done with your studies at Hogwarts then you can go to any school of your choice for your career. But first and foremost you are a sorceress and you must learn to harness your gift."
Robin miffed, "This place sounds lame. I want to go to school with Sam. She's my best friend in whole wide world. I don't go to another school."
Her father instructed, "You will have to say goodbye to your friend. She's a muggle. It's okay to have friends who are muggles but they will not understand the physics behind true magic."
Robin huffed, "Sam is smart. She would understand the physics more than you do, father."
He gave a sigh, "You will make new friends who will understand you at Hogwarts."
She sat pouting, "I will hate it!" She crossed her arms, "Why can't Sam come with me?"
Her mother replied, "Because she doesn't have the gift."
"But she's smart." Robin defended her friend.
"But she's a muggle." her mother reminded her. She then went to the cake, "Now, let's cut the cake and stop this nonsense about going into space."
Years Later
Cadet Samantha Carter walked down the hallway of the dormitory to find her room. She wore green battle dress and carried her duffle bag and a hand full of books. She came to the room and entered wondering who her roommate would be.
She glanced about and found a young woman with short brown hair unpacking her bag by the far bed. "Hi!" she called out.
Robin looked up from her task. Her eyes settled on Sam. Instantly she recalled her friend from school from when she was a child. "Sam?" she asked to be sure.
Sam cocked her head and squinted, "I know you."
A grin crept across her face, "Robin! Robin Hood. We went to grade school together. Remember, the Major Matt Mason doll."
Sam stood dumbstruck, "I remember. We used to have lunch together. You were sent overseas to a special school. Oh, my…" she gasped. "After you went overseas my dad was transferred and we lost touch." She placed her bag on the bed and walked over to her old friend. She gave her a hug, "Gosh, I can't believe it!"
Robin gave her a hug in return, "Me neither."
"I'm so glad to see you again." Sam replied and then glanced about, "It's like we got another chance to go to school together." She then wondered, "How was that special school they sent you too? It had a funny name."
"Hogwarts," she nodded. "It's a good school and keeps you on your toes." She then went back to her task, "I'm actually looking forward to the Academy. Be nice to have some normalcy in my life."
Sam chuckled, "Most people would not think of a military academy as normal, Robin."
She muttered, "More normal than Hogwarts."
"That bad?" Sam wondered.
She changed the subject, "Have you seen some of the guys here?"
"I know a few." Sam mentioned. "I should introduce you to my friend, Cam. You will like him."
"Cam?" she asked.
"Cameron Mitchell." she told her. "His dad was a test pilot."
"Nice," she gave a nod. She didn't mention the skill she acquired for flying a broom and playing a game called quidditch.
Sam then wondered, "Did you ever get that doll you wanted so badly?"
"No," she shook her head.
"You still got that creepy looking magic wand your parents gave you?"
She removed a small wooden box from her bag and opened it presenting the wand, "I still have it!"
"Why?" she asked not understanding it was a real magic wand.
"I do magic tricks." she excused. "My dad was a…magician…" she went with the old cover.
"I remember him doing magic tricks at a birthday party." Sam recalled.
"I can do magic tricks too." she added.
Sam chuckled, "Pull a rabbit out of a hat?"
"I don't own a rabbit to pull out of a hat…or a hat." she replied. She picked up the wand. She no longer needed the wand to do magic but she figured it would make a good cover. She decided to do a simple spell. "Lumos" she stated as she waved her hand over the end of the wand. The end of the and lit up like a bulb.
Sam figured the wand must be rigged with a light. "Neat." she smirked.
Robin placed the wand away, "Just a trick."
She mentioned, "Cam would be impressed. He would like magic tricks."
"Maybe?" she shrugged unsure if she would use the wand again.
Years Later - SGC
Major Samantha Carter waited eagerly in the hallway by the elevator for her friend to arrive. She knew Robin would love the new job for Sam had pulled some strings to get her working in the research department.
Colonel Jack O'Neill turned the corner of the hall and spied Sam waiting up ahead. He noted that she wore the identical blue battle dress uniform that Daniel also wore that morning. He was certain the pair were in cahoots for they always matched uniforms while Jack favored the green battle dress.
"Carter," he spoke as he approached. He came to a halt and wondered why she was waiting in the hall. He motioned towards the elevator. "Going up?" he asked.
She smiled happily, "I'm waiting to escort Major Hood. She's on her way down."
He puckered in thought, "Major Hood?"
"She's going to be in my department, sir." she gave a firm nod and seemed very cheery to Jack. She nearly jumped feeling rather excited. "Robin is going to love this. We were kids together in elementary school. We both wanted to be astronauts when we were kids. She so badly wanted that Major Mason doll. Then she had to go overseas for school and when she came back she entered the Academy and we ended up being roommates. I can't wait to see the look on her face when she's sees the Gate."
Jack asked, "Old friend, huh?"
She meekly agreed, "She is!" She then mentioned, "She's also a trained magician, sir. She can do some real mind boggling magic tricks. She had all the cadet eating our of her hand trying to figure out how she did it. You would be impressed." she assured.
"Magic tricks, Carter?" To Jack it sounded rather silly especially coming from Sam.
"I honestly could not figure out how she did them. I got a good guess but she would never tell me." she added firmly.
The elevator came to a stop and the door slid open. Inside the lift stood Robin in green battle dress ready to report for duty. She was surprised to see Sam waiting for her. She grinned as she stepped off, "Sam!" She wanted to hug her but knew she should not due to regulations. She then turned her attention to Jack. She came to attention, "Major Robin Hood reporting for duty sir."
He replied, "At ease." He then smirked, "Your name is Robin Hood?"
She became defensive for her name was a subject of jest and jokes all her life. "Yes, it is." She squinted waiting for the verbal prod.
Jack quickly figured she must have been teased for the name. He assured, "Okay! Just wondering." He decided to give her some space especially since she was Sam's childhood friend. He then mentioned, "Carter told me that you can do magic tricks."
Robin gave a heavy sigh and her shoulders slunk. "I can."
Jack smirked, "Let's see one."
Sam rolled her eyes and assured, "You don't have to do magic tricks, Robin."
Robin asked, "Which one do you think I should do, Sam?" She was always ready to stretch her skills under the disguise of an entertaining trick.
Sam grinned and whispered in her ear. Robin gave a nod and then held up her hand before Jack. Using her left hand to create an illusion of a magic trick she stated the word "Incendio" as she snapped her fingers and a flickering flame erupted at her finger tips. It seemed to burn just above her fingers in the air. She waved her hand once more and stated, "Restinguo." The fire extinguished instantly.
Jack's mouth dropped, "How did you do that?"
She told the truth, "I can do magic." She found whenever she spoke the truth most thought she was being coy or lying and thus telling the truth became the perfect cover.
Jack held up his our fingers, "But how?" he asked stumped.
Sam bragged, "I told you she was good."
Jack stood beside himself, "But how…?"
Robin changed the subject, "Where do I find General Hammond? I need to report to him."
Amused by Jack's reaction Sam stated, "I'll show you. That's why I am here." She addressed Jack, "Sir." She gave a nod and walked by him leaving him standing in the hallway dumbfounded.
Robin gave a salute, "Sir." She quickly followed behind Sam. The pair started down the hallway. Robin mentioned, "He seems like a lot of fun."
"Just a blast," Sam remarked recalling the missions. "I'll warn you. General Hammond is a no nonsense kind of man. He won't be too thrilled about magic tricks on base."
"I understand." she assured her. "Cam really liked to watch when I put on a show though."
"You had half the cadets in our class watching those tricks you would do." Sam agreed. "I still don't know how you do the fire trick. You have to use some kind of accelerant."
Robin replied, "I merely use my mind to heat up the atomic particles in the air to make a flame."
Sam gave a funny look, "Not fair! You can not use physics as a cover for your magic tricks. I will figure it out and how you do that."
Robin grinned, "Physics is everywhere."
"I will figure it out." she promised.
Robin simply smiled to herself.